More than 60 percent of those surveyed say they disapprove of the way the president is handling the economy and, what has become issue No. 1, the stagnant jobs situation. Just 43 percent now approve of the job he is doing overall, a new career low; 53 percent disapprove, a new high….

[M]ore than two-thirds of those who voted for Obama say things are badly off course.

By this time in their presidencies, approval ratings for both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton – who also suffered serious midterm setbacks during their first term – had settled safely above the 50 percent mark. Both then stayed in positive territory throughout their reelection campaigns.

When ratings for George W. Bush slipped into the low 40s during his second term in office, they remained there or lower for the remainder of his presidency.

If the past is any guide, the president will offer more economic nonsense Thursday night, thickly layered with his trademark passive-aggressive partisanship which is marked by demands that his political opposition give up their principles so he can indulge his ruinous ones –again.

The Gang of 12 could revive the economy and perhaps save the president’s re-election, but that would require the six Democrats to give the GOP the green light to embrace pro-growth policies and entitlement reform. It is a long shot, but it only takes one of the six Democrats to see what the country already does: The president is a failure and his policies don’t work.